Kid Rock ended Sunday’s All-American Halftime Show, put on by Turning Point USA as an alternative to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, by singing about how people should dust off their Bible and how one should ‘give your life to Jesus’ in order to live a more Christ-like lifestyle, which is presumably about loving and respecting one another.
On Monday, he went on national television and pondered aloud if Super Bowl halftime show producer Jay-Z was a “DEI hire.”
So, you know, a man of many contrasts.
Rock, real name Robert Ritchie, was the headliner for the alternative halftime show billed as an “opportunity for all Americans to enjoy a halftime show with no agenda other than to celebrate faith, family, and freedom.” It was created in response to a backlash from conservatives over the selection of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl LX halftime show. Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, had been critical of President Donald Trump and didn’t include U.S. stops on his concert tour over concerns about ICE agents harassing fans.
Ironically, despite TPUSA pushing its halftime show as the more family-friendly one focused on American values, it featured several performers promoting drinking, faux-cursing, and lyrics that sow divisiveness, while Bad Bunny’s performance was all about uplifting others, cultures coming together, and positivity.
While the show claims to have had around five million live viewers during halftime, that is likely a drop in the bucket compared to the Super Bowl LX halftime show’s eventual ratings (last year’s edition garnered almost 130 million viewers).
Rock appeared on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News on Monday to lob some sour grapes shots in the direction of the NFL, Bad Bunny’s performance, and Jay-Z’s role in it.
“Like most people, I didn’t understand any of it,” Rock said of Bad Bunny’s performance, which was mostly in Spanish. “I saw there’s a lot of dancers and a lot of big to-do stuff. And he said he wanted to have a dance party. It looked like he had one. Not my cup of tea, but I don’t fault that kid for doing the Super Bowl, getting in front of a global audience. I fought the NFL for putting him in that position. And Turning Point for having to come out and have an alternative for people to watch. It’s just, poor kid.”
After host Laura Ingraham said she didn’t want politics in music (which is a whole other story), Rock explains that he believes Jay-Z was brought on after Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest to appeal to the “predominantly male Black” players in the NFL.
“Roger Goodell had a real problem on his hands back then,” said Rock. “I think he was like, ‘How do I get out of this and keep making the tens upon millions a year that I make in a predominantly male Black league? So, he goes, ‘Maybe Jay-Z will do it.’ Nothing against Jay-Z. I respect him for his hustle and his music, but it seems like there’s a little bit of a DEI hire there going on. Like, ‘Oh, Black guys love Jay-Z.’
“I’m not that ignorant. I know a lot of us love Jay-Z, not just Black guys. But in the league where he had this problem, it seemed like, ‘We’ll bring him in.’ Jay-Z is not gonna take that position of power and that money. Then they convene in — that was a not-for-profit league until they quietly got rid of that tax-exempt status, so Roger did not have to disclose his salary. He had all sorts of problems. He brings in Jay-Z. What’s he gonna do? He’ll do right by his base. Had Kendrick Lamar, which a lot of people didn’t get. I respect him, but it’s not my cup of tea. Then the commissioner, he was going to double down. It was another middle finger to conservative, to MAGA, to my base, to everything.”
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show last year was the most-watched in Super Bowl history.
As for Jay-Z, he is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with 140 million records sold (to Rock’s 35 million), has won 25 Grammy Awards, was ranked by Billboard as one of the 100 greatest artists of all time, and is a billionaire. So whatever Kid Rock thinks “DEI hire” means, we’re pretty sure Jay-Z doesn’t fit it. Or, perhaps Kid Rock thinks “DEI hire” means “any person of color hired for a job,” in which case, then Jay-Z does, in fact, fit.
Rock also refuted reports that he lip-synced at the All-American Halftime Show, though there were several moments during “Bawitdaba” when he could be heard singing while his mouth was not moving. That issue did not seem to come up during any other performance in the show.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.